U.S. BELIEF IN GLOBAL WARMING REBOUNDING

The percentage of Americans who believe in global warming has rebounded to the highest level since the fall of 2009, according to a University of Michigan survey released Tuesday.

When the initial poll was done in the 2008, 72 percent of Americans said they believed there was solid evidence that average temperatures on Earth have been getting warmer over the past four decades.

The number fell to 65 percent in the fall of 2009 and tumbled to 58 percent a year later. But the most recent survey shows that in the fall of 2011, the number of climate-change believers rebounded to 62 percent.

A day earlier, the San Diego Regional Climate Education Partnership issued its own countywide survey on the same topic. It showed that the majority of San Diegans believe that:

• Rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a major cause of increased temperatures (54 percent).

• Worldwide annual temperatures between 1990 and 2010 have been the warmest in recorded history (55 percent).

The highest degree of specific concern (71 percent) was expressed for “future generations,” followed by “children” (69 percent) and “humanity” in general (65 percent) — what survey sponsors said indicated a strong connection between climate change impacts and people.

“In the wake of a polarizing national dialogue around scientific research on climate change, the survey suggests residents support the San Diego region showing national leadership in responding to the impacts posed by a changing climate,” said Michel Boudrias, lead scientist for the partnership.

The climate partnership includes the University of San Diego, The San Diego Foundation, Cal State San Marcos and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.